Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 551 The Wolf of Wall Street

"The Invasion" released by Lionsgate Pictures has made a box office of US$71.62 million in the North American market after more than a month of release. The overseas box office has currently reached US$74.8 million, with a total box office of 146 million.

Compared with the production cost of 15 million + the publicity cost of 5 million.

Lionsgate Pictures made a profit of no less than $60 million from this movie.

The film is also Lionsgate's ninth film to gross more than $50 million at the North American box office this year.

At the end of October, a week before Halloween, another thriller "Insidious 2" from Lionsgate Pictures was released.

"Insidious 1" was originally directed by James Wan at FilmDistrict Film Company. It was released in April 2011 with a production cost of 1.5 million and a global box office of 101 million US dollars. It was also the horror movie with the best box office performance in 2011.

In 2011, after Link acquired Lionsgate Pictures, he immediately signed director James Wan to Lionsgate with a large contract and bought out the sequel production rights to "Insidious". This thriller series also came to Lionsgate Pictures.

The production cost of "Insidious 2" was US$5 million, and the box office in the first week was US$46.35 million. It has been in theaters for 12 days and has grossed US$61.6 million in North America, and its overseas box office has also reached a cumulative US$54.4 million.

The global box office has accumulated 115 million, with a revenue ratio of more than 20 times.

There is no doubt that this is another hit movie.

Lionsgate's low-budget movies have enjoyed success at the box office one after another.

It also makes colleagues very helpless.

Before the rise of Lionsgate, although there was competition among Hollywood film companies, these competitions were divided into three levels.

The upper level is the competition between the six major film studios, and the middle level is the competition between independent production companies under the six major film studios, as well as independent production companies such as Summit Entertainment, Weinstein Pictures, Relativity Pictures, and Legendary Pictures. , the third level is competition among many small independent production companies.

Competition at the middle level cannot affect competition at the upper level, and competition at the lower level cannot affect the middle level.

However, after the rise of Lionsgate Pictures, it directly competed with the six major film studios across classes and firmly stepped on several of the six major film studios.

The rise of Lionsgate Pictures directly broke the original pattern of the film industry and set a very bad example for small and medium-sized film companies. As a result, many independent film companies began to imitate Lionsgate Pictures and tried to use this method to cross-class and large-scale film companies. Movie companies compete to make more money.

Small and medium-sized film companies are starting to get restless, and large film companies feel the pressure, so they will naturally work hard to speed up the advancement of film projects to prevent being overtaken by more peers.

In this way, competition in the film industry will become more intense, and people working in this industry will become more involved in order to prevent being left too far behind by Lionsgate.

This has also caused Lionsgate Pictures to be full of complaints in the industry. Many people hope to return to the days when Lionsgate Pictures did not rise in 11 years, but unfortunately they cannot go back.

"Link, if you were to choose the most hated movie company right now, Lionsgate would definitely be the top vote-getter."

On the red carpet at the Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, Leonardo put his pockets in his pockets, posed for the media, and said inappropriate words.

"Who will make the selection? If you are a movie fan, Lionsgate must be the most beloved movie company, bar none."

Link said.

"Haha, don't you think that Lionsgate Pictures has been receiving more and more negative news recently? This fully shows that Lionsgate Pictures is not loved by its peers."

Leonardo grinned and waved to the cheering fans outside the venue.

"It doesn't matter. Lionsgate's goal is to become a great film company, and it is becoming great step by step. It is normal to be envied, jealous, and hated by peers."

Link shrugged nonchalantly.

"You are so ambitious."

After walking the red carpet, Link and Leonardo walked into the cinema together.

"The Wolf of Wall Street," produced by Lionsgate in association with Leonardo's Appian Trail and Annapurna Pictures and distributed by Lionsgate, opens in the United States today.

The movie tells the story of Wall Street legend Jordan Belfort, a famous Wall Street stockbroker who once earned $12 million in three minutes and owned a billionaire fortune at the age of 31.

"The Wolf of Wall Street" is adapted from his biography, telling the story of how he earned a lot of capital by exploiting legal loopholes and lost himself in a life of **** and drugs.

A comedy directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey and others, Link also In the film, a young rich man makes a cameo appearance for a few seconds.

The production cost of the film is 100 million U.S. dollars, and the publicity budget is 20 million. To make back the money, the global box office must be at least 200 million U.S. dollars.

Lionsgate Pictures, Appian Trail Pictures, and Annapurna Pictures are all under considerable pressure.

For this reason, Link, who rarely attends premieres, also came to the scene to show his face.

"Link, what's up, do I qualify for an Oscar?"

After the movie started, Leonardo lowered his voice and said.

"Sell me this pen!"

On the screen, Leonardo, who plays Jordan, handed a signature pen to an audience member and said.

"This pen, um, this pen. It's very useful."

Before the audience finished speaking, Jordan handed the pen to the next audience and asked the other audience to sell the pen to him. Several people in succession failed to give the answer he wanted.

"How was my performance?"

Leonardo asked.

"good!"

"Just okay?"

Leonardo asked dissatisfiedly.

"There is still a long way to go before winning an Oscar."

Link said.

Leonardo snorted, "I watched "The Revenant" you mentioned last time, and it was pretty good, but do you think I can win an Oscar for playing Hugh Glass?"

"It depends on how much you invest. If you are willing to sacrifice for the role, become fatter, older and uglier, seriously ponder the script, and come up with better acting skills, after the release, the company will also try its best to help you publicize the award. If you just deal with it casually "If the movie doesn't look good, it won't win the award. It all depends on your attitude."

Link shrugged.

"Don't worry about making movies. I will take all movie roles seriously and will give my best acting skills."

"That's good."

Link nodded.

"There are several roles in "The Revenant" that are suitable for you. Do you want to try them?"

Leonardo asked as he saw Link's character flash by on the screen.

"No, I'm not interested in dirty roles."

Link smiled.

"Hmph, does an actor like you also want to win an Oscar?"

Leonardo pouted and said.

Link ignored him. The wife of the male protagonist Jordan in the movie appeared. She was a very familiar actor, like "Harley Quinn" Margot Robbie.

He asked Li Zi, and Li Zi said yes, he is Australian, 23 years old, and has been in the United States for more than two years. He is a third-tier actor and has a supporting role in this drama.

"Why are you asking her? Do you want to pick up girls again?"

Leonardo said with a wicked smile.

"She has good acting skills and is worth cultivating."

Link said.

Leonardo looked at him, not sure if he was serious or making excuses, but it didn't matter. For people like Link, once he caught his eye, his fate would change a lot.

For example, Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Daddario, Jessica Chastain, etc. They were originally unknown little actors. After being spotted by Link, within three years, they all became big stars, and two of them became Oscar-winning actresses.

With a good example, actresses in the entertainment industry are now very eager to be spotted by Link. If Link's belt was looser, his girlfriend could fill the Sunset Strip.

Even though he was not convinced, Leonardo had to admit that Link was a real master at picking up girls.

Bang bang bang!

After the movie screening ended, Link came up to chat with director Martin Scorsese and affirmed the quality of the movie.

The film initially encountered great resistance during filming, due to the copyright dispute between Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in 2007.

Both were optimistic about the script, and Leonardo won the rights to the memoir "The Wolf of Wall Street" through a bidding process.

And established the ‘Wolf of Wall Street Project’ under Warner Pictures with director Martin Scorsese.

When Leonardo left Warner Bros. in 2009, he took this project with him.

When director Martin Scorsese was preparing to start filming the year before last, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures both wanted to be involved under the agreement, and the film was mired in an inter-studio war that stalled production.

At this time, directors Leonardo and Martin Scorsese approached Link with the intention of making the film an independent film to avoid interference from major studios.

Link agreed and participated in most of the investment.

Now that the movie has been released, the quality is pretty good, which also shows that everyone’s previous efforts have not been in vain.

While chatting with Director Scorsese, Margot Robbie took the initiative to say hello, looking a little nervous.

Link responded politely and didn't say much else.

With his current status, even if he wanted to sign her, he would leave it to Ms. Mandy. He could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings by talking to the other party in person.

—

"The Wolf of Wall Street" was released in 3,537 theaters in North America and grossed US$41.47 million at the box office in its first three days. The opening results were almost in line with the expected 40 million US dollars.

The box office performance in overseas regions was better than that in North America. It was released in 23 countries during the same period and took in US$65.18 million in the first week.

The global box office has exceeded 100 million, but there is still a long way to go before the money can be recovered.

The movie has a relatively good reputation, with a comprehensive media review score of 84 points, and 29 media including the Los Angeles Times gave it a score of 90 or above.

Rotten Tomatoes has a fresh rating of 88%, with 54 people throwing out fresh tomatoes. Yahoo viewers rated it A, and it is considered a classic biopic.

Not long after the premiere box office data came out, Warner Pictures sued Lionsgate Pictures and Appian Trail Pictures for infringement in the name of a copyright dispute.

The reason is that the project directed by Leonardo and Martin Scorsese was originally established under Warner Pictures. According to the contract, Warner Pictures has the priority to invest.

Later, Leonardo left Warner with the project, but the priority still existed. Unfortunately, they did not receive the investment share when the project was produced, so Warner Pictures demanded that the producer compensate for economic losses of US$100 million.

When Warner Pictures sued Lionsgate for copyright infringement, there were a lot of negative news and comments about "The Wolf of Wall Street" in the media, making mistakes from all angles and denigrating the film.

The Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating also dropped from 88% to 72%, and the IMDb score dropped from 8.5 to 8.0, and continues to decline.

For this reason, the legal department of Lionsgate Pictures took action and filed a lawsuit with Warner Pictures in the Los Angeles District Court. It did not admit that Warner Pictures' so-called priority was still valid, and it would not compensate Warner Pictures a penny.

The public relations department is also actively taking action, using various methods to promote the film and trying to find ways to increase the scores on various platforms.

For this reason, Lionsgate Pictures had to invest an additional 10 million in its publicity budget.

Both sides are stepping on each other, which has also led to the recent surge in the exposure of "The Wolf of Wall Street" in the media, both good and bad. Since the film itself is of good quality, the good side has an advantage.

"The Wolf of Wall Street" took in 69.11 million U.S. dollars in North America within ten days of its release. For a movie costing over 100 million, the results can only be said to be average.

The overseas box office has exceeded 100 million US dollars in ten days, currently 138 million US dollars, and the global box office has exceeded 200 million US dollars, which also makes everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

The film's production cost plus publicity cost was more than 130 million. If the early box office is too poor, losses will have to be considered, and the company will become more conservative in publicity.

Now the total box office in ten days has exceeded 200 million, and the total box office is expected to be around 400 million, which is undoubtedly good news.

But because "The Wolf of Wall Street" did well at the box office, competitors were probably jealous, so they stepped up their efforts to suppress the movie, hoping to make Lionsgate lose money in this way.

For this reason, Eva Carter held a high-level meeting and asked the publicity department to continue to wage a public opinion war with competitors. It doesn't matter how much money is spent, but it must win and the image of the company and the movie must not be affected.

In view of the obvious hostility of Warner Pictures, the promotional department of Lionsgate Pictures has also actively suppressed recent movies released by Warner Pictures, such as "The Hobbit 2", "Gangster Legend" and "Equal".

The propaganda department also used tabloids to revive the suspicion that Warner Pictures had box office fraud when cooperating with small independent film companies, and encouraged a small film company to sue Warner Pictures, asking the judicial department and the film association to investigate box office data.

Although this incident is not confirmed news, due to Lionsgate Pictures' unremitting hype, Warner Pictures has once again been involved in a box office stealing scandal, and its reputation in the industry has declined sharply.

After Warner Pictures was involved in negative reports, it needed to spend a lot of financial, material and manpower on crisis public relations to prevent the situation from getting worse.

For this reason, it has also restrained its actions against Lionsgate Pictures, and the negative news about "The Wolf of Wall Street" has begun to decrease.

24 days after its release, the film's North American box office slowly exceeded 100 million U.S. dollars, becoming Lionsgate's sixth film to do so this year.

The cumulative overseas box office has reached 250 million, and the current revenue ratio is 3:1, which is considered a blockbuster.

Due to the good reputation of the film, it is considered that it is expected to receive multiple nominations at next year's Academy Awards.

If it performs well at the Oscars, the film's total box office has a high chance of exceeding US$400 million.

Lionsgate and two other corporate investment companies could also make a killing.

"Insidious 2", which was released at the end of October, has been in theaters for more than a month, with a box office of US$83.58 million in North America, US$79.33 million in overseas box office, and US$164 million in global box office.

Compared with the cost of 5 million, the revenue ratio is more than 30 times, and it has become one of the movies with the highest revenue ratio of the year.

It is also Lionsgate's 11th film to gross over 50 million in North American box office this year.

Counting five movies released at the beginning of the year, six in the summer, four in the fall and the box office of "The King of Wall Street."

The current North American box office of movies released by Lionsgate has reached 1.28 billion U.S. dollars, which is only 200 million U.S. dollars higher than last year’s total box office of Lions Gate. Month: Osage County.

This year's results will not be worse than last year. Based on last year's North American annual box office data, Lionsgate has great hope of staying in the top three this year.

"It's not bad. Our efforts were not in vain."

In the mountainside villa, Link put down the newspaper and said.

"It's good, but we performed too well, and the six major film studios became more hostile to us. Even if we have no direct conflict with the six major film studios, they will take the initiative to attack our movies."

Ivaca said, stirring the coffee with a spoon.

"Our current size is not much worse than that of the six major film studios. As long as they dare to take action, we will dare to take action. No one has to be afraid."

Link said confidently.

After Netflix's market value returned to more than 10 billion, Lionsgate Pictures' market value also increased from more than 3 billion to 5 billion U.S. dollars, which was higher than MGM Pictures and not much worse than Paramount Pictures.

Although there is still a big gap between Warner, Universal and Disney, Lionsgate has more sufficient capital flow than several others.

Moreover, the current heads of several companies are professional managers, and their power comes from the board of directors. Several film industry presidents will be restricted in what they do.

The power of Lionsgate is in his own hands. If the management of the six major film studios dares to risk being fired to cause trouble, he doesn't mind retaliating in kind and making the matter bigger.

"It's the end of the year, and now comes the stage of Oscar public relations. We have too many films to publicize this year, and I'm afraid we will be targeted by our peers. We don't know how many nominations we can get next year."

Ivaca said.

Link nodded. The movies that Lionsgate needs public relations for this year mainly include "The Wolf of Wall Street", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Rust and Bone", "Her", "August: Osage County", etc. The more movies there are, , the higher the cost, the greater the difficulty of public relations.

This is also the reason why the company delayed the release of "American Hustle" after careful consideration.

"Take your time. Our films are of high quality and it's not difficult to be shortlisted. Now it's our peers who should be stressed."

Link said while holding Ivaca's warm and tender palm.

Ivaca smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.

(End of chapter)